16pc of cigarettes smoked in Pakistan are illicit

Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) organized “An online dialogue on Illicit Trade of Tobacco Products in Pakistan- Who is responsible?” on Wednesday.
Dr Ziauddin, Technical head of Tobacco Control Cell & Co Investigator of study said, according survey more than 6,000 smokers were asked about their desire to quit smoking and their views on tobacco control measures. On average, one smoker spends almost 2000 rupees on cigarettes and smokes about 13 cigarettes a day. Two-third of smokers want to stop smoking. However, in the absence of any proper counseling or medicines, most fail to stop completely.
He further added the Studying Tobacco Users of Pakistan (STOP) survey was conducted in 10 most populous cities of Pakistan. Additionally, survey team also examined more than 8000 cigarette packs to check how many packs were illegal or smuggled. Approximately, 16% of cigarette packs were found to be illegal. However, this estimate is much lower than the claims made by the tobacco industry.